After Some Consideration
by GreeneTymes
Summary: Robin is dead, Killian has been taken back to the Afterlife, and Regina and Emma are working together to pick each other back up. Henry tries to think of how both his mom's can get their happily ever after, and he might just have a plan... F/F SwanQueen.
1. Chapter 1

Henry sat on his bed, legs crossed Indian-style and head resting on his fist. He stared down at the page of his book in front of him and reread the words several times. The words were printed in the same black font as the rest of the book, and resided on the page parallel to a full color illustration. Beautiful attention to detail had been taken on the art, and he noticed the emotion so realistically captured in the faces of those present. Each and every face was unique in its portrayal of the grief that resided over the crowd. But no face stood out as much as that of his mother.

His adopted mother, to be precise.

Regina Mills, former mayor of Storybrooke and evil queen of the Enchanted Forest, was depicted in the most vulnerable state of her's in the entire book, her brown eyes red and lower lip pursed mid-quiver. Henry felt intense empathy as he looked down at it, down at his mother on the day of her true love's funeral.

Robin Hood had died six months back, after the return from the Underworld with the rest of his family. He'd been killed trying to protect Regina, and his soul was banished to oblivion. He left behind his son, his band of men, and, most relevantly to Henry, his love.

Henry closed the book, realizing that he'd been staring at it for over half an hour. He rubbed at his eyes and hopped off the bed, changing into his pajamas and going to brush his teeth. The young brunet crawled into his bed at ten o'clock, right as his mom walked inside.

His birth mom, that is.

Emma Swan looked exhausted, and she practically collapsed onto the couch after stripping her signature red leather jacket off. Henry watched her from his bed, curious.

"Long day?" He called out, causing Emma to jolt. She looked over towards her son's bed, face revealing her surprise.

"Henry, I thought you were staying with Regina tonight?" She asked, straightening up to try and conceal her fatigue. Henry shook his head with a lopsided grin.

"That's tomorrow night, remember?"

Emma groaned, putting her face in her palms, "well if I'd known you were going to be here, I wouldn't have been out so late!" She sighed and stood up, trudging to her son's bed and crouching down next to him, "I'm sorry, kiddo."

Henry shook his head, "don't worry about it, I had some writing to catch up on."

Emma smiled, "what new stories came through today, then?"

The young boy opened his book from the back, flipping back about four pages to the newest tale. A full-color illustration of two brunet girls holding hands in front of a looming tower spanned the right page, while the left side was covered in small black script.

"Oh hey!" Emma visibly brightened, "it's Ruby and Dorothy!" She turned the book to face her and began reading in earnest. Her hazel eyes scanned the pages, a delighted smile growing on her mouth as she went along. As she finished, she let out a relieved chuckle. "I'm glad they're still doing well...I haven't heard from Ruby since we were in the...Underworld." As she spoke the final word, Emma seemed to darken. It was just a flicker of a change, but Henry noticed it. He frowned, closing the book. The blonde woman looked up at her son, giving a half-smile and squeezing his hand. "Try to get some sleep, kid. It's a school day tomorrow."

Henry rolled his eyes but conceded, saying goodnight and watching his birth mother walk away. As she turned the corner, Henry sat up in his bed and grabbed his flashlight. He turned in his book to the story after the one on Robin Hood's death. It was another tale of ultimate demise, and paralleled the other in an extremely unfortunate way. It, too, contained a vivid imagery of the event that had taken place. It, too, portrayed a person in mourning. And it, too, was telling a story of Henry's mom losing her true love. The only difference in this story, was that instead of dying as mortals are destined to die, his mother's true love was ripped away by a fateful misunderstanding.

Captain Killian Jones, the true love of Emma Swan, was whisked back to the afterlife after one week back on the surface. Although Zeus had generously allowed the Captain a bit more time with his loved ones, ultimately, death is a finite thing that even gods cannot fully orchestrate.

Emma had been crushed. She and Regina had found solace in each other—both having lost the love of their lives in the same narrow frame of time—and actually seemed to recover from the heartbreak. The death of a loved one is never a wound that can fully heal, but both Emma and Regina seemed to be dealing with their grief as well as one could be expected to. Sure they still had moments where it seemed to be overwhelming, but that was when the other stepped in and made it better.

Henry bit his lip, and ran his fingers over the glossy image. His brows were knit, and his mind was reeling just as it had been with the story of his other mom's loss. He loved his mom's a great deal, and wanted them to be happy more than anything in the world. It only there was a way to give them both the happy endings they deserved...

Hearing footsteps, Henry quickly stowed the book away and turned off his flashlight. He plummeted to his pillow and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. There was a creak, the trickle of liquid being poured into a cup, the sound of the refrigerator door closing, and then the footsteps began to walk away.

Just as he thought he was in the clear, the sound of his mom's voice carried into his nook, "keep the flashlight off and get some sleep, Stephen King. Your book will still be there in the morning!"

"Goodnight, mom," Henry called back, snickering.

And he kept the light off, as instructed. But the thoughts lingered in his mind all night long...

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **The next chapter should definitely have some Regina/Emma interactions, and maybe even a 'moment'! Also, if there was a bit too much angst in this for anybody, worry not! The deaths of Robin and Killian needed to be addressed, but now that that's out of the way, it can get cute :)**

 **Oh, and in case it was unclear, Killian got taken back to the afterlife by Zeus after a week of being back.**

 **See you in the next chapter! Reviews are always appreciated, especially if you'd like me to improve on anything :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Regina turned to face the sink, rinsing off the two dinner plates that she and her son had just eaten from. It was getting close to seven, and she was mentally figuring how she would be able to do a few chores and still have time to spend with Henry before bed. As she placed the dishes in the dishwasher, hair falling slightly over her brown eyes, the sound of bare feet on the tile floor approaching from behind caught her attention.

"Henry," Regina began, standing up and turning to face her son. She noticed that his expression seemed troubled, and frowned, "is everything okay?"

The brunet boy shook his head and took a few steps towards his mother.

"Mom, I've been thinking a lot, and I was just wondering..." He hesitated, aware that his next words would cause his mother some pain. Shifting his weight on his feet and sighing, he finished his sentence. "I know it's only been half a year, and I know that you probably don't want to talk about it, but...do you think you'll ever be open to another...relationship?"

Several emotions crossed the face of the former evil queen all at once. Her eyes filled up with regret, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, and her lips pursed in an effort to conceal it all from Henry. She broke eye contact, grabbing the dish rag and wiping down the counter in an effort to calm down.

"Why would you ask that, Henry?" Her tone was one of exasperation, but the brunet boy felt encouraged by the unmistakable tinge of curiosity behind her words.

"I was just wondering," he responded with an innocent smile. Regina raised an eyebrow, suspicious. Henry shrugged after a momentary pause, "I just...I don't want you to be alone forever. You or Emma. I just wanted to know if...if you'd be _willing_ to give your happily ever after another chance."

Regina sighed, setting down the rag and turning to face her son. She ruffled his hair, and noticed at the back of her mind that he was nearly as tall as her. A sad smile crept onto her face as she looked into his dark brown eyes, and she nodded gently.

"Don't worry, Henry. I...I'll never _forget_ Robin, but..." She sighed softly, " _but,_ I have come to accept that giving up on the hope of the future is the only was to assure that I _won't_ find happiness. If I ever did meet somebody, I wouldn't hide from the idea of...well, you get the picture."

Henry beamed, nodding in excitement. "Great! In that case, Operation: Coyote is a-go!"

Regina blinked a few times in bewilderment, "wait wait...what? What is coyote?"

"Coyote's mate for life," Henry explained, his mom's face turning white at the statement, "and this mission is all about finding you somebody to be with forever."

The brunette was beyond words, so she merely blinked at her son. Satisfied with the silence, Henry turned and headed out of the room, "I'm going to take a shower!"

Meanwhile, Regina plopped down on a chair at the kitchen table and shook her head. What had she begun?

* * *

Henry watched the blonde hair of his birth mother as she turned around several times, storming from one end of the room to the other. Her heels clacked loudly on the floor, and she seemed to be getting quite frustrated. The brunet boy bit off a piece of his pop tart as he watched, and frowned.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" He called out for the third time, but the stubborn blonde shook her head yet again, feeling around under the edge of the couch and huffing.

"I _know_ I sat it somewhere in here!" She said aloud, but Henry wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself. For at least twenty minutes now, the sheriff of Storybrooke had been seeking out the keys to the station. She'd checked all over the apartment twice now, but the keys were nowhere to be found.

"Just check your car, mom," Henry advised, and Emma groaned. She had refused to go out there, being so sure that she'd brought the keys in, but after half an hour of searching it seemed like the only place left to check.

"Fine," she consented, snatching her car keys from the counter and trudging out of the room. Henry shook his head, standing up and going to toss the snack wrapper into the trash can. His mom, while known to be quite obstinate from time to time, seemed to be operating at a higher frequency than usual that morning. She'd offered to drive him to school before work, and even though at this point he knew he'd be late no matter what, Emma still insisted that she wanted to take him. It wasn't a huge deal, considering his teacher was his grandma (Snow was back to teaching full-time since several months of nothing bad happening), but it was still quite stubborn, even for her.

The brunet boy turned at the sound of the door clicking shut, and couldn't restrain a slight smirk at the sight of his birth mother sulking towards him with her keys in her hand. She met his gaze, and her solemn expression cracked into an amused smile.

"Don't say a word!" She playfully warned.

The two of them grabbed their things and hurried to the car, hopping in and driving at a speed that only the sheriff herself could really get away with.

During the drive, Henry debated over asking his birth mom the same question he'd asked Regina two days before. He glanced over at her, noticing that her stubbornness wasn't the only thing unusual in her personality this morning. Her eyes betrayed a level of stress, and she looked like she'd hardly slept at all. Maybe today wasn't such a good day to bring up _that_ subject…

"What is it?"

Henry shook his head quickly as he realized that his mom had caught him staring at her. Emma raised an eyebrow in question, obviously waiting for an answer. The brunet sighed, knowing that he couldn't get away with a lie even if he wanted to.

"I was just wondering…if you think you'll ever date again," Henry was a lot more to-the-point with Emma than with Regina, as he wasn't quite in the right mindset to beat around the bush. Besides, a straight question typically yields a straight answer.

Emma's jaw tightened, but overall the question didn't seem to surprise her. They were only a couple minutes away from the school now, and Henry was eager to hear her answer.

"Yeah."

Blinking a few times in surprise, the brown-haired boy's tone protested such a short response, "' _yeah_ '?"

"I mean," Emma seemed to be struggling to elongate her response, "It's never too late to find love again? That's how I see it."

The yellow bug pulled up to the curb in front of the school, but Henry hesitated before he got out. He looked down at his backpack, and then over at his birth mom. They made eye contact, but she kept her expression steady and unreadable. Henry slowly nodded, and opened his door.

"Okay mom…thanks for the ride."

"Anytime kiddo!" She called as he slammed his door shut. She watched him walk away, even waving as he glanced back over his shoulder. Her hazel eyes followed him all the way to the front door, and when he disappeared inside the building, she put her car in gear and headed off towards the sheriff station.

Emma's phone buzzed from beside her, and she glanced down just long enough to read a text from David. It was two words, but they were the two words that she'd been waiting for all morning. These two words meant that everything was going to work, and that she could finally stop worrying. A tight, almost wry, smile crossed over the blonde woman's lips, and she turned the radio on for the remainder of the drive.

On her phone, just as the screen was about to turn black, the words were clearly legible:

" _Gold's in._ "

* * *

 **Sorry for the late update! The rest of the story should be a bit quicker than this chapter was!**

 **Anyway, I hope nobody is mad at me for yet another chapter without Emma and Regina interacting, but I promise it's coming!**

 **How about that cliffhanger? There seems to be some drama afoot!**

 **So, Review if you liked it! I appreciate every review so much, and everyone who reads this!**

 **Thanks to everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm really sorry, but I honestly can't help you."

Henry groaned, visibly unsatisfied. "You did it once, though! And now you have you magic back. Why couldn't you just…do what you did the first time?"

The woman that the boy was addressing turned to face him, a scolding look in her eye. "What? Steal pixie dust from my boss and risk being banished again?"

Henry was taken aback by the words, his face flushing.

Tinkerbell had been busy in the library attempting to find a spell for the Blue fairy when the brunet boy arrived, and was now trying quite dutifully to get him to leave. As soon as he started asking questions about her first encounter with Regina, she knew that she was treading into dangerous territory. She didn't necessarily want to be so blunt with the boy, but the topic he insisted on discussing was one that she typically tried not to think about. After all, it was the decision that lost her her wings and turned her into a directionless vagabond for all those decades in Neverland.

Realizing that she'd been quite curt, the blonde fairy sighed and stopped searching to talk to Henry for a minute. "Look, I think I know what this is all about, and I think it's very noble that you want to help your mom—er… _mom's…_ find love again. But I'm afraid even if I _were_ willing to try and steal more pixie dust, there very well might not be any to steal."

Henry furrowed his brow and put his hands in his pockets, "what do you mean? The fairies _still_ don't have any?"

Tinkerbell shrugged, a slightly bitter look in her eyes, "I wish I knew for sure, too. Blue isn't exactly an open book, despite how she likes to present herself. But, as far as I've been told, the pixie dust has been dried up for quite some time and we don't know how to get more."

Henry's gaze fell to the floor, defeated. He nodded almost imperceivably, and muttered a thanks as he turned to leave. Tinkerbell watched, pity dancing in her green eyes. Deep down, she knew that she should just let him leave and stay out of it, but unfortunately, that wasn't in her nature.

"Henry, wait!"

The boy turned and looked at the fairy with wide, expectant eyes. Tinkerbell inhaled deeply, hesitating before she spoke, and then let the words tumble from her mouth without another thought.

"Blue has a room with a locked cabinet. Everybody knows about it, but nobody has ever been brave enough to ask what's inside…" Henry's expression began to brighten at the fairy's words and Tinkerbell felt a small smile grow on her lips, "It'll have to be timed perfectly, so I can't promise when I'll be able to do it, but…I think there's a chance I might be able to sneak a peak when Blue is busy."

The boy grinned, but his eyes showed that he was concerned, "will you lose your wings again if you get caught?"

Tinkerbell shook her head, smiling sadly, "at this point, what does that matter? We aren't really even fairies anymore in this land." Henry nodded slowly, although the sentiment didn't seem to quell his worry. The blonde fairy continued, "plus I'll make _extra_ careful not to get caught. Okay?"

"Are you sure you want to?" He inquired meaningfully, his brown eyes wide with trepidation.

Did she? No…not necessarily. But a part of her was already beginning to swell in excitement over this mission. She'd be lying if she said she'd never felt curious as to what Blue kept in that cabinet, and helping people find love? It was definitely worth the risk.

With a sure smile, Tinkerbell nodded. "Yes, I do. But right now, I need to finish work here, so go on home and I'll contact you if and when I find anything out."

Henry agreed happily, and sped from the library. The blonde fairy turned back to the books in front of her and sighed, shaking her head.

She might have just made the worst mistake of her life, but _damn_ if it didn't feel great.

* * *

Emma walked out of Gold's shop with her head low, deep in thought. Behind her was her father, David Nolan. The two hurried to put distance between themselves and the building, turning left twice and then loading into Emma's bug. She flopped back in the seat before even starting the engine, letting out a long sigh. David fastened his seatbelt and gave his daughter a sympathetic look.

"Don't feel good about working with Gold?" he asked softly. The blonde woman snorted.

"Not too savior-like, is it?" David reached over and squeezed her shoulder, shaking his head.

"Look, I'm helping you because I believe that everything will work out. Sure we're doing some things that your mom wouldn't necessarily approve of—"

"Which is why we can never tell her," Emma interrupted bitterly.

"— _But_ ," David continued, "…I have hope that it will all be worth it in the end."

Emma rubbed her eyes before sitting up and starting the car. The clock on the dashboard lit up and suddenly the blonde woman's face filled with panic.

"Ah, damn it! I have to pick up Henry from school!"

"I thought Regina was doing that?" David inquired. Emma shook her head.

"No, no. I have pick up today, he reminded me this morning. I have to hurry, he'll think I forgot about him if I'm late again!"

"Then just drop me off at the school, I'll catch a ride home with your mother."

Emma sped off, nonverbally accepting David's offer. Luckily, they made it there only a couple minutes after the end of class.

Kids passed by all around, the much lesser-known children of famous fairytale characters. Emma took a moment to consider the fact that she was technically younger than these kids—they'd already been school age when she was just born. It was a bizarre thought, and one that she wasn't eager to entertain at that precise moment. Tucking away her musings, the blonde woman scanned the landscape of children to try and find her son.

Ten minutes passed with no sign of Henry. Emma had gotten out of her car after the wave of kids went by to try and find him, but he was nowhere in sight. She was alone now, as David had already gone inside to find Snow, and worry was starting to set in. She got back into the car seat and pulled her key from the ignition, deciding to go inside the school and look for her son. It was just then, as she started to walk towards the front door, that she heard a quite familiar voice call out behind her.

"Miss Swan, what on Earth are you doing here?"

 _Regina_.

Emma turned on heel and found herself only ten feet away from her son's adopted mother. Her hair was styled in its typical fashion, with the ends curled out, and she wore a navy pants suit as per usual. Her expression was one of genuine confusion, and Emma stopped walking to let her catch up.

"It's my day to get Henry," she responded factually, eliciting a groan from the brunette.

"I _knew_ it! I knew it was your day but I just _had_ to second guess myself," Emma was surprised by how much Regina was beating herself up over the mistake, and quickly put a hand on her back.

"Hey, it's fine. We're both adjusting to this whole joint custody thing." Regina seemed to relax a bit against Emma's touch before she put her hand back in her pocket. The two looked at the school, which now seemed nearly-deserted. "Henry didn't come out with his class, so I think he might have stayed back with Mary Margret."

The brunette nodded, and began to walk towards the building in silence. Emma watched her, noticing that he head was bowed and her shoulders were turned inward slightly. Was she really so embarrassed about messing up the date?

Just as Regina was reaching for the doorknob, the door swung open and the familiar faces of Snow and Charming appeared before them. The black-haired woman's eyes widened and she stepped back in surprise.

"R-Regina! Emma!" she looked from one to the other, "what are you two doing here?"

Emma made eye contact with David for a split second before looking away. Her brow furrowed in confusion at her mother's question.

"We're here to pick Henry up from school," Regina responded slowly, eyes slightly narrowed, "but he wasn't outside waiting?"

Now it was Mary Margret's turn to look confused. "But…" she began, a slow look of serious concern creeping over her face, "he left early. He said he wasn't feeling well, and that one of you was going to pick him up."

All four stood in silence for a second as realization dawned on them at once. At that moment, everybody turned and ran to their respective cars.

Mary Margret and David got out first, speeding off towards their apartment. Emma and Regina both seemed to be headed in the same direction, which was to Regina's house. Buildings zipped by on the left and right, but Emma paid them no mind. Her eyes were trained on only what was dead ahead, which, at the moment, was the bumper of Regina's car. The two automobiles pulled into the driveway of the brunette's home, and both women jumped out to go look inside.

"Henry?" Emma called out first, looking up the staircase. Regina hurried into the kitchen but found nothing. The two women searched the whole house, all for naught. Henry simply wasn't there.

At once, Emma and Regina exited the house and headed towards their cars. The blonde woman unlocked her door and climbed inside, preparing to start the ignition when she noticed that she'd left her phone in the passenger seat. Deciding to check it before she sped off in some aimless direction, she found three missed calls and a text from David saying that Henry was safe at her apartment.

The news blew relief through Emma's entire body, and she let out an exhausted sigh. Suddenly realizing that Regina was about to back out of the driveway, the blonde woman hopped out of her seat and signaled for the other to stop.

"Henry's fine!" She called out.

Regina put her car in park and turned it off, climbing out with an expression of agitation and relief. "Where is he?" She asked in a weary tone.

"My apartment," the blonde explained, and Regina rolled her eyes in submission. She turned and began to walk back to her house, key still in hand. Right before she reached the door, she turned and spoke to Emma.

"Want to come in for a drink?" She offered.

Emma rocked on her feet, "It's only 3:30."

Regina snorted, "and?"

Letting out a low chuckle, Emma conceded and hurried to catch up with the other woman.

It _had_ been a long day.

* * *

 **How's that for a quick update?**

 **And finally some SwanQueen interaction! 3**

 **Obviously, there's a lot of stuff brewing in the background, but right now getting those two together is the biggest priority!**

 **Let me know how you like my story if you want! I appreciate all reviews!**

 **Thank You!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Regina splashed some water on her face and sighed into the mirror. She gazed at her reflection, noticing that since the curse had lifted, she seemed to be showing more definite signs of aging. Small wrinkles had formed around her eyes and mouth, and her hair seemed to be somewhat flatter than before. Her eyes had lost some of their fire, although that might have just been a side effect from turning away from the darkness. The brunette grabbed a towel and patted her face dry, turning away from the mirror and heading downstairs to find some dinner.

Emma had stayed for about half an hour, but left at four to go home and find out why Henry had given them all a collective heart attack that afternoon. Regina felt a ghost of a smile cross over her lips as she recalled the short-but-nice time they'd had, laughing about all the things they'd done and considering their futures.

The prospect was a strange one to consider, but Regina felt as though she was almost content as she was. Content with having Henry nearly as much as she used to (although she would have liked him more, she had grown to accept that he was happier when spending time with both his mom's), and content with the trust she was beginning to forge with her peers. She was even content with the strange, unorthodox friendship that had been blooming between her and Emma. The thought flustered her, and Regina bowed her head into her chest to think. Yes, it had been the blonde woman to first call the former Queen a "friend", but Regina felt as though the relationship was becoming even more. Best friends, perhaps, was more accurate. But even that didn't feel quite intimate enough to describe how Regina viewed Emma.

The brunette woman hurried into the kitchen, stomach churning at her thoughts. She pulled open the fridge and peered inside, deciding without consideration to make manicotti and salmon for dinner.

As she prepared her ingredients, however, the former mayor's mind once again tread into the territory of her son's other mom. Her expression knotted up as she marinated the fish. She turned and started a pot of water on the stove, and then stood still as she waited for her oven to preheat.

It wasn't a new concept, Regina's feelings for the savior. It was something that she'd wrestled with before, but ultimately admitted to herself.

Regina knew that she was romantically interested in Emma Swan.

The water bubbled audibly, signaling the brunette to put the noddles in. Moments later, the oven beeped and Regina stuck her salmon inside. After this, she went to sit down and stew on her thoughts. She laid back on the couch in her den and let out a low sigh, eyes trained on the ceiling above.

She'd known since she first met Emma that she was at least somewhat attracted to the blonde. It was hard not to be! She was so strong and sure-willed, not to mention beautiful. But Regina, mayor at the time, had ignored the feelings and let her hatred for Snow White fuel her actions. She let these emotions drive her until she began to repent. Henry was the main force behind her transformation to good, but after she reached that point, she felt lost. Nobody wanted to give her a chance to show that she'd changed. Nobody except Emma.

Maybe this was the point that Regina truly realized that if she were to ever love again, it would be with somebody like her. Unfortunately, her pride forced her to stifle the feelings and Regina ignored what her heart told her for as long as she could.

And then Emma and Killian got together.

Regina knew as soon as she found out about them that her chance was gone, and she had to fight not to show her sadness. When she'd met Robin, she knew they had chemistry. She did love him, undeniably, but a part of her knew that she could never devote herself completely to him.

Still, his death left a terrible hole in her heart.

At first, it had seemed as though Emma was going to be able to get her happy ending without her. Killian, against all odds, was brought back from the dead. Regina had been bitter and grief-stricken, but there was nothing she could do.

But then, Hook had disappeared and the town realized that he's been taken back to the afterlife. Some research revealed that all documented cases of 'second chances' from the gods were temporary—just long enough to say a proper goodbye to everyone they loved.

Emma was devastated, but Regina, guiltily, felt the most hope she'd had in her entire life.

The buzzer sounded, and Regina hurried to get her food from the oven. Everything seemed to be done, so she served her plate and went to sit at the table.

It was an empty table, as was per usual unless Henry was over. Despite the brunette's newfound acquaintanceships with several of the people in Storybrooke, she still only had a few "friends". Of course, it wasn't as if she were going out of her way to _make_ friends, but the thought had crossed her mind from time to time. Usually, she would consider the prospect for a few moments, but ultimately find it unappealing. Yes, she liked company, but the only two people that she really _wanted_ to spend time with were her son and...well...his _other_ mom.

Regina's expression softened as she imagined the blonde seated right next to her, giving her smiles and enjoying her company. Henry would be seated across from them, recounting the story of whatever he'd gotten into that day. No doubt _he_ would find the arrangement quite satisfying—never having to pick between his mom's again. It truly would be perfect...

...if only Emma felt the same way.

* * *

Tinkerbell held the device close to her face, attempting to use her smartphone to look unsuspicious as she stood down the hall from the entrance to the office labeled "Mother Superior". Of course, the cover would have been more believable if she had any clue how to use it. It was quite frustrating, all the buttons and colors, and Tinkerbell only hoped that she would be able to stop pretending soon.

Fortunately, her wish came true.

The Blue Fairy exited the room, talking on her own phone as she locked up. Tinkerbell was barely within range to make out a few words of the hushed conversation, but it didn't matter if she could hear it. She knew exactly what Blue was talking about.

"A squirrel?...has anybody...did it..." The words trailed off as Blue disappeared out of sight, and Tinkerbell grinned slyly. Without a sound, the blonde tiptoed over to the door to Blue's office and reached into her pocket. There was a slight metallic jingle as Tinkerbell pulled out a ring of keys, but it was quiet enough to go unnoticed. The blonde fairy went through the ring quickly, trying several keys before reaching the correct one. With a silent sigh of relief, Tinkerbell slipped into the room and shut the door behind her.

Finding the backup keys for the room had been easy. Whether she could unlock the cabinet, however, remained to be seen.

It was over in the corner, about 4 feet tall and completely sealed shut. Tinkerbell quickly identified that it wasn't locked with magic, which came as a huge relief. If it had been magically sealed, she probably _never_ would have been able to get in, but it seemed as though luck was with her today.

The blonde fairy pulled a pin from her hair and began to work.

Between her years as a wanderer and the time that she'd been friends with Emma Swan, Tinkerbell had perfected her lock picking techniques. As expected, the Blue Fairy's cabinet was a stubborn one, but, ultimately, it was no match for her. The drawer popped open with a clank and Tinkerbell gazed inside in bewildered excitement.

At first, the blonde fairy was confused by what she saw. It appeared to be entirely documents and files; just a long row of various kinds of paper. Tinkerbell groaned, reaching down to see if there was anything below the files, but found nothing. It was disheartening, as this meant that Henry would not be getting pixie dust for his mother's. But even more disheartening was that Tinkerbell would now have to dig through an infinite amount of documents if she truly wanted to snoop on the Blue Fairy's secrets.

Yes, she definitely had a strong alternative reason to agree to help Henry. Truth be told, Tinkerbell had nothing but distrustfulness for the woman that had stripped her of her magic all those years ago. It was so obvious that she was keeping secrets, but none of the other fairies seemed to notice.

The blonde fairy began to flip through the files, eyes scanning the little tag lines on each one. Most of what she read made no sense, but every dozen files or so piqued her interest, so she pulled them out and set them aside. These files were all either labeled with names of other fairies that Tinkerbell knew or with the names of different locations. She'd had to stop herself from immediately reading all the information in the "Neverland" file, knowing that she only had a few more minutes before her window of safety started to close up. Her fingers continued to flip through, lips mouthing each word that she read until she froze entirely. Her eyes gazed down at the words "Pixie dust". Quickly shaking herself from the stupor, the fairy removed the folder and began to close the drawer until she saw the next (and very last) file in the drawer: "Green".

Tinkerbell momentarily wondered why her and the pixie dust's files were next to one another at the back, but her train of thought was quickly derailed as she suddenly picked up on the sound of approaching footsteps in the hallway. Scrambling, she grabbed her file and the small small pile she'd collected, closing the cabinet so that she could hide. The green fairy ducked below the window as the footsteps grew closer, and let out a whoosh of air that she hadn't known she'd been holding as they walked past.

She had definitely overstayed her welcome in this room, every second she lingered was only increasing her chance of being caught.

Tinkerbell stood up straight and cracked open the door. She hesitantly peaked out, making certain that the coast was clear before she made a mad dash to the stairwell. She paused here, tucking the files under her top as inconspicuously as possible in case she was seen, and then hurried down to the ground floor.

She had to get home and read these things.

* * *

 **Once again, this is a bit later than I intended to update, and I'm sorry!**

 **Thanks to everybody who reviewed or followed, I appreciate all feedback :)**


End file.
